Bush Replaces Rummy

The day after voters handed Republicans a stinging rebuke in no small part for the messy, protracted aftermath of a successful deposal of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, President Bush replaced Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with former CIA chief Robert Gates. President Bush acknowledged that the Iraqi situation had contributed to Republican losses. However, he indicated that he had planned before Election Day to replace Rumsfeld with Gates if both concurred. The alacrity with which he did so underscored the veracity of Bush's assertion: nevertheless, conjecture has been made that Rumsfeld's replacement may have been merely the activation of a contingency plan if the Dems won. Regardless, the action post election sends an olive branch to Pelosi and the other new power players on Capitol Hill.

Cf. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/youdecide2006/index.html.

Dems Take House: NOW Senate

UPDATE #2: Allen Concedes: Reid Celebrates

Cf. ABC News Radio.

UPDATE: AP News Alert: Dems take Senate with Webb victory. Newly Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut will be feeling his oats when he attends the next Democratic caucus.

Cf. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/11/08/D8L98GMG0.html.

Republicans lost the House of Representatives and may yet lose the Senate in yesterday's off-year elections. To control the House, 218 votes are needed: thus far, Democrats have surpassed that number by 5 and are poised to gain more. (Republicans have 185.) To control the Senate, 51 votes are needed: thus far, Democrats have 47 seats, Republicans 48, and Independents 2. (Since the two Independents caucus with the Democrats, the Democrats have effectively 49.) The yet undecided states are Montana and Virginia and both may be subject to a recount. In order to maintain control of the Senate, Republicans only need to keep one of the states whereas Democrats must win both to wrest control from the GOP. The reason that the GOP needs only to get a tie to still control the Senate is because the Vice President (the presiding officer of the Senate) votes in case of a tie.

Cf. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/youdecide2006/index.html.

Rather Funny

In a delightful twist, Dan Rather, disgraced former CBS Evening News anchor, will continue his 44-year personal record of covering elections going: he will be analyzing the news on Comedy Central's Indecision 2006 special at 10:00 p.m. tonight with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. "Some viewers won't be able to tell the difference," said Bob Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television (Syracuse University). Rather known for his folksy, quirky illustrations or "Ratherisms" has given much comedic fodder to late night talk show hosts, such as Leno and Letterman. He once commented, "This race is tight like a too-small bathing suit on a too-long ride home from the beach." Of course, many saw Rather's discredited story on Bush's National Guard service and his stubborn refusal to disavow it as dark humor that manifested a manic animosity toward conservatives in general and the Bushes in particular. Rather assessed his decision to join the Comedy Central crew tonight, stating, "It's a risk, I guess, but what the hell."

Cf. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/magazine/daily/15946250.htm.

Faith Unhinged

Faith Hill's persona as a sweet, beautiful wife and mother took a hit last night at the Country Music Awards. When Carrie Underwood was awarded Female Vocalist of the Year, Faith became unhinged: she looked straight into the camera and said, "I won," and then she stormed off in disgust. Faith, no need to throw a temper tantrum: you're supposed to be a Southern lady.

If you want to see the video, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYh8shXJ7PI. (However, the video is a bit messed up: Fox and Friends had a clean clip on the morning and may put it on their site.)

Saddam Guilty: Death by Hanging

Saddam Hussein was found guilty this morning of the 1982 killings of 148 Shiites in Dujail in response to an assasination attempt on the deposed dictator. The Iraqi criminal court of crimes against humanity sentenced Saddam to hang until dead. Saddam has the right to appeal but he must be executed within 30 days if the appellate court upholds the verdict (according to an Iraqi judicial source). Upon hearing the sentence, Saddam shook the Koran and wagged his finger at the judge as he exclaimed, "Allahu Akbar (Allah is great!) Long live the nation!"

President Bush stated, "Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law: It is a major achievement for Iraq's young democracy and its constitutional government." Abbas Khalaf, Sadam loyalist and former Iraqi ambassador to Russia, said that the court proceedings were "a purely political trial." Vitaya Visetrat, a Thai academic and Islamic expert opined, "The hanging of Saddam Hussein will turn to hell for the Americans."

Cf. http://www.bangkokpost.net/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=114012; http://www.bangkokpost.net/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=114014; and http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13550448,00.html.

Tag: Not It!

Willett Elementary School (south of Boston) has banned kids from playing tag, touch football, and other unmonitored chase games. Officials fear that the school will be held liable for any injuries that the children may suffer when engaged in these sports during recess. (Elementary schools in Spokane, WA, and in Cheyenne, WY, have also banned tag, and a Charleston, SC, suburban school has banned all unsupervised contact sports.) Even though the disallowals of contact sports such as tag, touch football, and dodge ball are ridiculed by many conservatives, these sports do allow the victimization of weak children by strong ones often with the tacit, and not so tacit, encouragement of callous coaches. If schools continue to allow such unsupervised sports, they should be held fully liable for any foreseen or reasonably foreseen harm that the children under their care incur.

Cf. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2581504.

Heinz (Kerry) Slow Bad

After advising CA collegians that if you don't study hard, you'll end up in Iraq, Teresa's hubby has finally "apologized." After initially saying that he did not apologize to anyone and saying that his remark was a "botched joke," Kerry finally expressed his regret to the soldiers, their families, and any American that took offense from a "misinterpretation" of his remarks. Hillary swiftly slammed Kerry's comments as inappropriate, TN Democratic senatorial candidate Harold Ford quickly called on Kerry to apologize, and Kerry smartly cancelled campaign appearances on behalf of Democratic candidates for the House and the Senate. His take on the military reminds one of his expressed beliefs in the 2006 presidential campaign that U.S. soldiers were terrorizing women and children in the dead of night in Iraq coupled with his 1972 U.S. Congressional race questionnaire submission to anti-war group, Massachusetts Political Action for Peace, that a volunteer army would consist of the poor and of people of color and would be susceptible to commit war crimes. The Catsup Queen's patrician spouse should get out of his ivory tower and mingle with his benighted plebes that decide to serve their country without regard to their economic, social, racial, or credal status.

Cf. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20061102/D8L4QH580.html.